Internal linking between categories

[seoanalytics]

Is it necessary to do internal links between the same categories of a website ( Let's say Ihave a category about shoes and in the category I have a page about boots and one about sandals ( should the page boots be accessible from the page sandals and the other way round or is the back button going back to the section shoes enough ) ?

If internal links between the same category ( sandals to boots ) are needed/recommended is it also a good practice to do site wide links between categories ( shoes and and bags for example )

Because by reading google recommendations "Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link" I am not sure if they are talking about breadcrumbs or text links i am kind of lost ...

Thank you,

[Bryant-Jaquez]

This is a HUGE question, and honestly you should probably get some SEO consultation from someone who is familiar with ecommerce URL architecture. Having said that, you can look at some other sites that are doing a good job. Take a look at REI and Zappos.

Keep in mind that you should design for humans first and search engines second. If having a site-wide navigation link for your categories is going to help you sell more shoes, and help your customers find what they are looking for than you should do it. It's easier to make a website that was built for UX more SEO friendly.